


Reeling

by innerslytherin



Series: The Fifth Year [10]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-24
Updated: 2009-11-24
Packaged: 2017-10-03 16:46:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/innerslytherin/pseuds/innerslytherin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hotch and Emily are both shaken up by their encounter with the Fox. <i>Coda to "Out Foxed"</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reeling

**Author's Note:**

> **Notes:** Betaed by . **SPOILERS for "Out Foxed".**

Spencer didn't know what to say.

He'd always had a tendency to babble out facts when he didn't know what to say. That wouldn't do in this case. For one thing he'd never seen Aaron this furious. For another, he'd never seen Aaron this lost.

So he kept his crutch out of the way while Aaron paced. He listened while Aaron listed off Foyet's profile again and again. He watched for moments that he could brush his hand against Aaron's.

And he didn't say anything.

 

***

Dave knew what Emily looked like when she was upset, with the shoulders that tightened and the lips that pressed together and the tiny headshakes as she tried to mentally talk herself out of being upset or flipped through boxes in her mind and tried to find one to fit any given issue in. He knew that her strides were just a little shorter, just a little faster, when she was angry. He knew that she would rather take a beating from an unsub than own up to her more vulnerable spots.

But he wasn't quite sure what to do with the silent, withdrawn Emily Prentiss sitting next to him in his car as they drove home. Hell, he didn't even know if she was withdrawn like this because of the case, because of the Fox, because of Foyet, or because of Aaron.

He'd seen Aaron come through the bullpen in what was, for Aaron, a towering rage. He'd seen the way Emily followed him, looking grim and somehow cowed. He'd hoped they hadn't argued, but it hadn't been a real suspicion anyway. Aaron didn't like conflict, and he would never direct anger like that at a subordinate, particularly Emily.

But Aaron hadn't spoken to anyone; he'd just gone into his office and shut the door hard. When Dave glanced in, he could see that Aaron was flipping through a file furiously.

"Foyet," Emily had said quietly. Then she'd turned and walked over to her desk without answering Dave's blurted questions about whether the Reaper had contacted them, what had happened...nothing. She simply began packing up the things she would need over the weekend.

Spencer came crutching back from the coffee area and Emily exchanged a few words with him, then said good night. Dave had stared after her as she walked out, then went over to Spencer.

"What did she say to you?" he'd demanded.

Spencer bit his lip, then said, "Foyet set them up by contacting the Fox. She told me to make sure Aaron doesn't go home alone."

"Fuck," Dave hissed, and barely took the time to nod at Spencer before he ran after Emily. He knew he was probably making a fool of himself, chasing her like that, but he also knew that there was no woman more worthy of making a fool of himself over than Emily Prentiss.

He caught up with her by the elevators, but the hard look she directed at him kept him from speaking. So they rode down the elevators in silence, they walked out to the parking garage in silence, and he counted it a victory that she headed for the Bentley instead of her Prius.

And they spent the entire drive to his house in silence.

 

***

 

"I will kill him if he hurts my family," Aaron said quietly.

Spencer didn't doubt it. He just wondered what family Aaron was talking about. He wondered if Aaron even knew. He curled his fingers around Aaron's. Aaron didn't move closer, but he did grip Spencer's hand.

"I wish I knew what to say," Spencer admitted finally.

Aaron sighed and moved just close enough that his leg brushed Spencer's. Spencer leaned forward and let his head rest against Aaron's hip. After a moment, Aaron's fingers found their way to Spencer's hair.

It wasn't much, but it was a start.

 

***

 

"What are we doing?" Emily asked finally. They'd gone inside without speaking and Dave had headed straight to the drinks cabinet, then caught himself and poured her a glass of tea from the fridge instead. She'd given up alcohol, though she hadn't weaned herself off caffeine yet.

He was sitting next to her, but at the sound of her voice, thin and full of doubt, he set his own drink aside and slipped down to his knees in front of her. She was hunched forward, her hair covering her face. Dave reached up to brush her hair behind her ear.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She went still, then looked up to meet his gaze. Her eyes were wet, though he hadn't noticed her crying. "This," she said, and gestured between them. "_This_," she repeated, holding up her iced tea. "What the hell are we thinking, wanting to bring a child into this God-damned, fucked-up world?"

Dave stared at her. His first thought was that maybe she was pregnant already. He'd heard that pregnancy hormones did things like making women cry and get emotional. Then he shook his head. She and Aaron had had a much worse time of it during this case than the rest of them.

"Emily," he murmured, stroking his thumb gently against her cheek.

"Don't!" she ordered, jerking back from his touch. "Don't treat me as if I'm being irrational. I _know_ what people are capable of, David! I've _seen_ what people are capable of!" She shuddered and squeezed her eyes shut, then abruptly stood up and shoved past him, knocking him half on his ass when her knee bumped his shoulder. She paced over to the drinks cabinet, poured herself a glass of Maker's Mark, and tossed it back in one go.

_God, I hope she's **not** already pregnant_, he thought. His next thought was, _What the hell happened at that prison_?

She poured another and Dave sighed, then walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Emily, talk to me," he murmured. "Don't do this."

"I don't know how to talk about this," she said. "I just..." She sighed too and leaned back against him. "Dave, we've seen the ugliness in this world. We go face to face with it all the time. How do I justify wanting to bring someone innocent into this ugly world?"

"Because the world isn't ugly," Dave said. "There are ugly people, yes, and ugly acts. But the world itself is beautiful, and you are full of love that you need to share with some wonderful little boy or girl. And I adore you, and I want to raise children with you and grow old with you."

She made a quiet noise and turned her head, burying her face against his neck. "How do we protect them?"

"We just do our best," Dave said. He kissed her head. "Which is all we can ever do."

"I love you," she mumbled. "Have I ever told you that?"

"Not often enough," he teased, tightening his arms around her. "I'll never get tired of hearing that."

***

"Let's go to bed," Spencer said after a while. He tugged at Aaron's hand, but Aaron resisted. Spencer waited, tilting his head to watch him.

Finally Aaron sighed. "I can't be angry if I'm in bed with you."

"You're not angry at me," Spencer said.

"Of course not."

"Then you can be angry if you're in bed with me. But I want to put my arms around you, and it's too awkward standing on one leg that long."

Aaron looked sideways at him, then shook his head. "If Foyet tries to take you--"

Spencer pushed himself to his feet in time to cover Aaron's mouth, even though it hurt his knee to take his weight. "Don't. What Foyet does is _his_ choice. _His fault_. Not yours. Ever."

Aaron pulled away and rubbed a hand over his face, then leaned down to pick up Spencer's crutch. "Here," he murmured. "Let's go to bed.


End file.
